Prepaid Micropayments Solution

ABSTRACT

An infrastructure and method for making online payments without the use of a credit card is disclosed. The infrastructure includes a prepaid technology module for receiving information related to a purchased pre-paid card. The prepaid technology module stores at least one of a PIN number and a serial number associated with a plurality of pre-paid cards. The infrastructure also includes a interface for receiving information from the consumer, related to the purchased pre-paid card, and a digital settlement network for receiving a purchase request from a consumer, the digital settlement network further for authenticating the purchased pre-paid card.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/850,662 filed May 21, 2004, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Online retail environments, allowing the purchase of online content(e.g., a game, music, magazine article, newspaper article, etc.), arerapidly increasing and expanding. Customers making online purchasescurrently submit credit card information online or call a customerservice number to relay credit card information in order for thecustomer to provide payment for the online purchases. Many customers arewary of submitting personal and/or credit card information online andtherefore refrain from making online purchases.

Currently gift certificates or pre-paid gift cards are available forpurchase from a brick and mortar retailer. However, the gift cards areutilized for purchasing items in the store and not at the store'sinternet location online. In many cases, the gift certificate or giftcard may only be utilized to purchase items sold at the retailer atwhich the gift card is purchased. Although credit cards can be used inboth a brick and mortar retailer and at many internet retailers, somecustomers do not want to reveal their credit card information to everyinternet retailer from which they purchase items or services. Someonline services, such as PayPal, allow consumers to “hide” credit cardinformation from internet retailers and also allow consumers to purchasemerchandise from them. Still, a consumer must enter the credit cardinformation online, then the information is hidden from retailers, whichmay not be desirable for some consumers.

Therefore, there is a need for a secure payment option for customerswithout a credit card or for those reluctant to provide personal and/orcredit card information online. There is also a need for a type of giftcard that can be purchased at a brick and mortar retailer, but can beused to purchase goods or services from a variety of internet retailers.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention relates to an infrastructure for allowing onlinepurchases with a pre-paid card. The infrastructure includes a prepaidtechnology module for receiving information related to a purchasedpre-paid card. The prepaid technology module stores at least one of aPIN number and a serial number associated with a plurality of pre-paidcards. The infrastructure also includes a user interface for receivinginformation, from the consumer, related to the purchased pre-paid card,and a digital settlement network for receiving a purchase request from aconsumer, the digital settlement network further for authenticating thepurchased pre-paid card.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for makingan online payment with a pre-paid card. The method includes activating apurchased pre-paid card at an infrastructure, receiving informationrelated to the pre-paid card for making an online purchase, determiningif the pre-paid card is authentic, and allowing release of a requesteditem upon a determination that the pre-paid card is authentic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and the scopethereof can be obtained from the accompanying drawings which are brieflysummarized below, the following detailed description of thepresently-preferred embodiments of the invention, and the appendedclaims.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating communication in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an infrastructure in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a consumer making an onlinepurchase with a pre-paid card in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To alleviate the need for transmitting credit card and/or personalinformation online in order to make an online purchase, embodiments ofthe present invention relate to allowing a consumer to purchase apre-paid card at a brick and mortar retailer (“a retailer”). Theconsumer may then utilize the pre-paid card at one or more participatingonline retailers or service providers to make purchases without havingto submit credit card or personal information.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may provide pre-paidcards for multiple distinct content providers simultaneously. All thepre-paid cards may be validated and purchases related thereto aresettled via an exemplary infrastructure set forth below. This allowsmultiple separate and distinct content providers to take advantage ofcost savings associated with subcontracting out their online-contentpre-paid cards to a single pre-paid card service provider.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrating communications inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Contentproviders 2 provide services or items for purchase by a consumer 8. Forexample, a content provider 2 may be a gaming provider, music provider,media provider, electronic device provider, etc. and the contentavailable for purchase may be music, games, media, articles, electronicdevices, etc. The content providers 2 communicate with an infrastructure4 via line 12. The content providers 2 may communicate by a dataconnection via the Internet or a direct communications link between thecontent provider 2 and the infrastructure 4, although any communicationvehicle is possible. The infrastructure 4 provides PIN management,database management, interfacing between the content provider 2 and theinfrastructure 4, interfacing between the infrastructure 4 and aretailer 6, and an authentication process. As such, the infrastructure 4creates a link between the content providers 2 and a retailer 6. Theretailers 6 (e.g., Blockbuster, Best Buy, GameStop, etc.) may sell thepre-paid cards for a variety of content providers 2. A consumer 8 maypurchase the prepaid card with cash, credit card, check, etc. at theretailer 6, thus allowing a consumer 8, without the use of a creditcard, to purchase online content. Once purchased, the pre-paid card isactivated by the infrastructure 4.

For example, a consumer 8 may purchase a music card at the retailer 6 inorder to download music online at the content provider 2 website (e.g.,realplayer.com, sony.com, etc.). Alternatively, a user may purchaseanother type of pre-paid card, such as a game card. The game card allowsa consumer 8 to play a predetermined number of games or to have apredetermined time allotment (e.g., one month or 15 hours) to play gamesat a specific website such as DISNEY.

The consumer 8 may, after activation, purchase the online content withthe pre-paid card. The consumer 8 enters information related to thepre-paid card which is then transferred, via line 12, to theinfrastructure 4. The infrastructure 4 validates the consumer enteredinformation with the information provided by the retailer 6. If theinfrastructure validates the pre-paid card, then the online content isforwarded from the content provider 2 to the consumer 8.

Each pre-paid card allows the consumer to request the specific goodspurchased at the retailer 6. In other words, the game card may not allowthe consumer to make purchases other than those specified by the gamecard. In this way, a consumer is prevented from purchasing content otherthan that which was intended to be purchased. For example, a DISNEY gamecard may not be utilized to purchase content other than games at theDISNEY website (e.g., stuffed animals, t-shirts, music, etc.). Inaddition, the DISNEY game card may not be utilized to purchase games atwebsites other than DISNEY.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a system implementing anembodiment of the present invention is illustrated. When a pre-paid cardis purchased at the retailer 6, information relating to the pre-paidcard is transmitted or communicated to the infrastructure 4 via line 10.The information transmitted from the retailer 6 alerts theinfrastructure 4 that the particular pre-paid card has been purchasedand therefore should be activated. A Prepaid Technology (PT) module 20of the infrastructure 4 receives the information relating to the prepaidcard and also stores PIN numbers in a PIN database 22 of the PT module20. When the PT module 20 receives the information relating to aparticular purchased pre-paid card, the PIN database 22 is searched forthe PIN associated with the particular pre-paid card and the PIN isactivated.

Also included within the infrastructure 4 is a payment gateway 24 thatinterfaces with the PT module 20. The payment gateway 24 includes aproduct catalog 26 and a commerce router 28. The product catalog 26stores information related to products of the content provider 2. Theinformation may be cross-referenced with a particular PIN or serialnumber from the pre-paid card. The commerce router 28 is utilized whenthe consumer 8 requests online content at the content provider 2website. The commerce router 28 interfaces between the content provider2 website and the payment gateway 24.

When a consumer 8 wishes to make a purchase, the consumer 8 utilizes auser interface 30 that communicates with the payment gateway 24. Theconsumer 8 may enter, at the user interface 30, a PIN number and/orserial number associated with the pre-paid card. After the PIN and/orserial number of the pre-paid card is validated, the commerce router 28transmits a response to the user interface 30 allowing the requestedpurchase to take place.

A digital settlement network 32 of the infrastructure 4 keeps track oftransactions, such as authentication, balance verification, datatransfers, etc. In addition, business rules of particular contentproviders 2 and/or particular products are stored in the digitalsettlement network 32. An accounting module 34 receives information fromthe digital settlement network 32 in order to balance and/or settleaccounts utilizing the infrastructure 4.

In addition, the infrastructure 4 may incorporate a customer care module36 to interface with consumers 8. For example, a consumer 8 may accessthe customer care module 36 to determine the balance on the pre-paidcard, access a transaction history of the pre-paid card, etc. In orderto provide information requested by a consumer 8, the customer caremodule 36 may access the payment gateway 24 which may, in turn, accessother portions of the infrastructure 4. Alternatively, the customer caremodule 36 may retain the information separately, or the information maybe accessed directly from various other portions of the infrastructure4.

The infrastructure 4 may also interface with a portal 38. The portal 38advertises and markets products, such as the pre-paid cards, andwebsites of the content providers 2. The consumer 8 may access thewebsites of the content providers 2 through the portal 38 or theconsumer 8 may access the content provider 2 website directly. Inaddition, the portal 38 may allow consumers 8 to locate a retailer 6where they may purchase the pre-paid cards. The portal 38 may interfacewith the digital settlement network 32. Further, the websites of thecontent providers 2 may have direct access to the Digital SettlementNetwork via line 40. Direct access allows the content providers 2 toaccess, in real-time, transactions, such as card activations and cardusage.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram 50 for making an online purchaseis illustrated. At step 52, a consumer 8 purchases a pre-paid card at aretailer 6. As mentioned above, the pre-paid card may be a music card, agame card, a media card, etc. In addition, the pre-paid card may bedistinctly separate from the retailer 6. For example, a retailer 6, suchas Best Buy, may sell a pre-paid card from a distinct company such asSony or GameStop. At step 54, the pre-paid card is activated by theinfrastructure 4. At step 56, a consumer may request an online purchase.The infrastructure 4, at step 58, determines if the pre-paid card isauthentic. The pre-paid card may be authenticated if the PIN or serialnumber has been activated, and/or if the pre-paid card is associatedwith the online content requested by the consumer 8. For example, thepre-paid card may not be authenticated if the consumer 8 attempts topurchase a game with a music card or purchase music that is beyond thecredit limits of the pre-paid card. If the pre-paid card is notauthenticated, then, at step 60, the request for online content isdenied. If the pre-paid card is authenticated, then, at step 62 theinfrastructure 52 allows the release of the online content requested forpurchase. At step 64, a transaction record may be updated for thepre-paid card.

Embodiments of the present invention and obvious variations thereof arecontemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimedinvention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for allowing online purchases with aprepaid card, the system comprising: a computer implementedinfrastructure comprising a prepaid technology module, a payment gatewayand a digital settlement network; the prepaid technology module toreceive information related to a purchased pre-paid card, the prepaidtechnology module to store a number associated with the purchasedpre-paid card, wherein the prepaid card is purchased at a retailer; aninterface to receive an online purchase request from a consumer, theonline purchase request identifying a product requested for purchaseusing the purchased pre-paid card; the payment gateway in communicationwith the interface to couple the prepaid technology module and theinterface; the digital settlement network to receive the online purchaserequest from the consumer through the payment gateway, the digitalsettlement network further to authenticate the purchased pre-paid cardbased on predetermined business rules associated with the onlinepurchase request and to determine the online purchase request is of atype that is permitted to be purchased using the purchased pre-paidcard; wherein the prepaid technology module, the interface, the paymentgateway, and the digital settlement network are part of the computerimplemented infrastructure separate from a content provider of theproduct requested for purchase and the retailer; wherein the paymentgateway comprises a commerce router for interfacing between a website ofthe content provider and the payment gateway; wherein the contentprovider has access to the digital settlement network; wherein thepurchased pre-paid card is not redeemable at the retailer; and whereinthe purchased pre-paid card is redeemable only at the website of thecontent provider.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: anaccounting module for settling accounts between the consumer and thecontent provider.
 3. The system of claim 1, where in the prepaidtechnology module comprises a database for storing numbers associatedwith a plurality of pre-paid cards.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe purchased pre-paid card comprises one of a music card, a game card,a media card, and an article card.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thecontent provider comprises a plurality of separate content providers,wherein one of the plurality of separate content providers is a musicprovider, a game provider, a media provider, and an article provider. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the prepaid technology module receivesthe information related to the purchased pre-paid card from the retailerthat sold the purchased pre-paid card.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe prepaid technology module authenticates the purchased pre-paid cardby mapping the information related to the purchased pre-paid card withinformation stored in a database.
 8. A system for allowing onlinepurchases with a prepaid card, the system comprising: a computerimplemented infrastructure comprising a prepaid technology module, apayment gateway and a digital settlement network; the prepaid technologymodule to receive information related to a purchased pre-paid card, theprepaid technology module to store a number associated with thepurchased pre-paid card, wherein the prepaid card is purchased at aretailer; an interface to receive an online purchase request from aconsumer, the online purchase request identifying a product requestedfor purchase using the purchased pre-paid card; the payment gateway incommunication with the interface to couple the prepaid technology moduleand the interface; the digital settlement network to receive the onlinepurchase request from the consumer through the payment gateway, thedigital settlement network further to authenticate the purchasedpre-paid card based on predetermined business rules associated with theonline purchase request and to determine the online purchase request isof a type that is permitted to be purchased using the purchased pre-paidcard; a portal for allowing the consumer to access a website of acontent provider of the product requested for purchase; wherein theprepaid technology module, the interface, the payment gateway, and thedigital settlement network are part of the computer implementedinfrastructure separate from the content provider and the retailer;wherein the payment gateway comprises a commerce router for interfacingbetween the website of the content provider and the payment gateway;wherein the portal interfaces with the digital settlement network andthe website of the content provider has access to the digital settlementnetwork; wherein the content provider has access to the digitalsettlement network; wherein the purchased pre-paid card is notredeemable at the retailer; and wherein the purchased pre-paid card isredeemable only at the website of the content provider.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, further comprising: an accounting module for settling accountsbetween the consumer and the content provider.
 10. The system of claim8, where in the prepaid technology module comprises a database forstoring numbers associated with a plurality of pre-paid cards.
 11. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the purchased pre-paid card comprises one ofa music card, a game card, a media card, and an article card.
 12. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the content provider comprises a plurality ofseparate content providers, wherein one of the plurality of separatecontent providers is a music provider, a game provider, a mediaprovider, and an article provider.
 13. The system of claim 8, whereinthe prepaid technology module receives the information related to thepurchased pre-paid card from the retailer that sold the purchasedpre-paid card.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the prepaid technologymodule authenticates the purchased pre-paid card by mapping theinformation related to the purchased pre-paid card with informationstored in a database.
 15. A method for approving an online payment witha pre-paid card, the method comprising: activating a purchased pre-paidcard in an online payment infrastructure, wherein the purchased pre-paidcard is purchased at a retailer; receiving first identificationinformation relating to the purchased pre-paid card; receiving secondidentification information from a consumer through an interface and apayment gateway of the online payment infrastructure, the secondidentification information relating to a product requested for purchaseusing the purchased pre-paid card; determining if a balance associatedwith the purchased pre-paid card is sufficient to pay for the productrequested for purchase; determining if the product requested forpurchase is of a type that is permitted, in accordance withpredetermined business rules associated with the purchased pre-paidcard, to be purchased using the purchased pre-paid card; and approvingpurchase of the product requested if the balance associated with thepurchased pre-paid card is sufficient to pay for the product requestedfor purchase and the product requested for purchase is of a type that ispermitted, in accordance with the predetermined business rulesassociated with the purchased pre-paid card, to be purchased using thepurchased pre-paid card; wherein the online payment infrastructure isseparate from a content provider of the product requested for purchaseand a retailer associated with the purchased pre-paid card; wherein thecontent provider has access to the online payment infrastructure;wherein the purchased pre-paid card is not redeemable at the retailer;and wherein the purchased pre-paid card is redeemable only at a websiteof the content provider.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingupdating a transaction record to reflect that the product requested forpurchase has been purchased.
 17. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising denying access to the product requested for purchase upon adetermination that the purchased pre-paid card is not authentic.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the determining if a balance associated withthe purchased pre-paid card is sufficient to pay for the productrequested for purchase comprises matching the received secondinformation with information stored at the online paymentinfrastructure.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the activatingcomprises submitting information related to the purchased pre-paid cardto the online payment infrastructure.